From mines in countries like Argentina, South Africa, and Australia to refineries and factories in countries such as China, Finland, and Japan, the materials necessary to produce a modern battery cell are transported from across the globe to converge at the end at a single factory where they are transformed into a battery cell. The question is what production steps are carried out in the supply chain? Where do the materials originate? How is the transport managed and controlled between these steps in the supply chain? And what is the impact of the transport on the final cell?
This contribution aims to answer all these questions based on the Bill of Materials for modern battery cells. The supply chain is broken into sections and detailed down to individual production steps; these production steps are used to gather market data on manufacturers and factory locations. With the real-world factory locations and infrastructure data, an in-house developed transport simulator is used to simulate the transport processes. With information on the transport process impact parameters, both cost and Greenhouse gas emissions can be evaluated and compared to full cell data.
The contribution’s scope will focus on comparing the impact of transport in the supply chain of cell manufacturing in three global regions: China, Europe, and the United States, for various state-of-the-art cell chemistries and cell types. The presentation will showcase results from different potential supply chains for each global region, highlighting the transport impact in the distance traveled, Greenhouse Gas emissions, and cost with a breakdown for each transport type and supply chain segment.
Through the contribution, the audience should gain an insight into the state of the current battery market and an understanding of the significance and relevance of the impact of transport on the global supply chain. To understand and set in perspective their work, news media, and company information and to be better informed on the current global battery market.